Thursday, March 4, 2010

Epic Post: Where I'm From

Recently I read an interview with the captain of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team, Tory Jackson. Jackson is from my hometown, and I was pretty surprised to read how the national sports media sees my hometown of Saginaw, MI.

Simon and Garfunkel sang it took them four days to hitchhike from Saginaw in their hit song “America.” The song was off their album Bookends, written in either 1967 or 1968 by Simon. The part about leaving Saginaw to see a different America could hold today, but for different reasons. Back then the urge to leave a city like Saginaw could have been chalked up to a common theme at the time. Young folks escaping an unglamorous, maybe even stifling life –at least in their eyes — working in the automobile or lumber industry. In other words, rebelling against the life of your father. A return home, at least for some, would be inevitable when it was discovered that life away from home wasn’t always better. And that last part is where the comparison would not hold today — because almost everything these days is better for a young person if they can get out of Saginaw. It’s a city of roughly 55,000 suffering a 20% unemployment rate. Tory Jackson had a better chance than most of his peers to get out for two reasons — family and basketball.

“Drugs, death, and murder,” says Jackson, “that’s what happens in Saginaw. Young people like me get killed all the time there. It’s just the way it is.” And in case you think Jackson is overstating the situation, the numbers actually suggest he might be downplaying it (if that’s even possible).

Since 2003, Saginaw has been ranked the #1 most violent city in America by the FBI. Number one out of 850 communities with populations over 40,000 based on violent crimes per person...Six years running. That’s a streak any city would want to run from. Raised in America’s most violent city…Tory J. Jackson is the American Dream.

The article got me thinking about my own background, my own history. It's strange to think that I am here living in a city recently named "Best City In America to Live", considering where I am from. It is a relief though, to be here, though I miss home terribly, and over romanticize Saginaw. So many Springsteen songs touch on my formative experiences there, and the influence of the Nasty (aka Saginaw) show up in my work all the time. I am extremely proud of being from there.

So this reminiscent post will wrap up with some lyrics by the Boss, from the song that most expresses how I feel about Saginaw today, My City of Ruins. Or simply watch it below.

There's a blood red circleon the cold dark groundand the rain is falling downThe church doors blown openI can hear the organ's songBut the congregation's gone

My city of ruinsMy city of ruins

Now the sweet veils of mercydrift through the evening treesYoung men on the cornerlike scattered leavesThe boarded up windowsThe hustlers and thievesWhile my brother's down on his knees

My city of ruinsMy city of ruins

Come on rise up!Come on rise up!

Now there's tears on the pillowdarling where we sleptand you took my heart when you leftwithout your sweet kissmy soul is lost, my friendNow tell me how do I begin again?

My city's in ruinsMy city's in ruins

Now with these handsI pray Lordwith these handsfor the strength Lordwith these handsfor the faith Lordwith these handsI pray Lordwith these handsfor the strength Lordwith these handsfor the faith Lordwith these hands